I stumbled on a new and fun camera setting today while taking photos of the daffodils that line the driveway of our condo.  When I say “stumbled” I really mean “stumbled.”  It’s a wet, damp and overcast day and while I thought it would help soften the bright yellow color of the blooms, I was struggling with getting just the right sharpness, light, color and contrast.  I tweaked everything from the shutter speed to the aperture and the ISO to the exposure.  I even tried multiple settings with the flash thinking that a little fill light would help.  But, I just couldn’t get it right!

The flower details aren’t too bad, but overall it’s too dark. White Balance – Cloudy; TV 1/800; AV 6.3; ISO 500

With Flash -2 2/3;White Balance – Cloudy; TV 1/800; AV 6.3; ISO 500

With Flash -2 2/3;White Balance – Cloudy; TV 1/160 AV 8; ISO 400

So, I started digging into the other settings like white balance and picture style (bouncing back and forth between standard and landscape) and that’s when I found the “Faithful” setting.  As I dug into it I realized that I could adjust the “sharpness,” “contrast,” “saturation” and “color tone.”  Wow! I could actually adjust all four (4) in the camera instead of waiting to download and adjust in Photoshop!

Faithful- default settings; White Balance Auto; TV 1/200; AV 6.3; ISO 400

Faithful- sharpness 5; contrast 4; saturation -4; color tone -3; White Balance Auto; TV 1/200; AV 7.1; ISO 250

You can see with the photo on the right I took down the saturation and bumped up the contrast. The yellow wasn’t quite as vibrant as it was on the left, but there is a little more distinction between the pine straw and the green plant behind the blooms.

As I was wrapping up and heading back in I noticed a few tulips pushing up through the ground…….look at the details of the rain droplets I created by using the “Faithful” setting!

Faithful Settings: Sharpness 5; Contrast 2; Saturation 2; Color Tone -1; TV 1/200; AV 5.0; ISO 250; Auto White Balance

I guess you could argue that to be really precise it would be easier to do everything in Photoshop or LightRoom.  But, how “magical” it is to be in control of the settings and the final piece of art while you’re experiencing the beauty you’re capturing?